Define "Hot"

It's cooling off at night, basically 30 degrees cooler than during the day; however, when it's 115-116 during the day, cooling off 30 degrees is still 85-86 at night.

The air conditioner is running day and night, although it's set at 85 degrees, which is pretty high for most desert dwellers, but feels quite nice when coming into the house from outside. The tile floors help the house stay cooler than it would be without the tile, and the ceiling fans run 24/7, which also helps keep the inside cooler. I shut the vents in the room I don't use, as well as both bathrooms. The new energy efficient window in the front of the house is helping, especially with the thermal drapes, as is the new slider on the patio, but ...

116 is just plain HOT, no matter how you define it. It's been this hot since the first of June, with little relief in sight this year.

While I was on my trip to Canada, my friend thought it was too warm in the house and turned the thermostat down to 80! I cringed when she told me that, knowing that her decision will cost me big bucks in the June electricity bill, but it was too late to do anything about it. She told me she turned it down for Mia, but I know she turned it down for herself, not the dog, because her house is an ice cave in summer and a steam bath in winter!

My past highest bills have been about $150 during the summer, but I'm betting on double that this year. I didn't turn on the AC until June, but it's been working over-time since then. Electricity is the costliest desert utility, probably because it is the one we need the most, and families that don't practice conservation often have electric bills hovering between $500-$750 dollars a month during the summer. People who live in the big houses with all the must-have amenities can write checks for a thousand dollars a month without even trying.

Perhaps the good news is that the AC heavy-use period is about 4 months and this too shall pass.